Tip of the WeekThis week we offer the full results from the LII 2006 user survey. Those of you who took the survey were able to see the results in progress, but this is a more holistic view (though without analyses or the ability to cross-tabulate). We coded our user budget suggestions last week and will offer an analysis shortly. In answer to many enquiries, you are more than welcome to borrow our survey questions for your own use.

Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project
Digital collection of over 6,000 cylinder recordings from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. "Cylinder recordings, the first commercially produced sound recordings, are a snapshot of musical and popular culture in the decades around the turn of the 20th century." Searchable by keyword, or browsable by performer, title, issue number/label, or year of release. Includes a history of cylinder recordings and cylinder radio shows. From the University of California, Santa Barbara Library.
URL: http://cylinders.library.ucsb.edu
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/21094

Web 2.0 Awards
Awards for websites excelling in "Web 2.0" capabilities, such as "user empowerment and open-source applications online." Includes descriptions and rankings of the winning sites (in areas such as social networking and tagging), selection criteria, and an essay. Librarian Gary Price was one of the judges. Sponsored by an Internet marketing company.
URL: http://www.seomoz.org/web2.0/
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/21133

Government

opensecrets.org: Lobbying Database
Find data on expenditures of lobbying firms and lobbyists to Congress and other government agencies. Search by lobby firm or lobbyist name, industry (such as defense or agribusiness), issue (budget, trade, and others), or government agency. Data goes back to 1998. From the Center for Responsive Politics, "a non-partisan, non-profit research group ... that tracks money in politics, and its effect on elections and public policy."
URL: http://www.opensecrets.org/lobbyists/
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/21097

IFPMA Clinical Trials Portal
This site allows users to search for details of ongoing clinical trials and results of completed trials. It "establishes links to IFPMA member company websites as well as other commercial and government-sponsored websites containing information on clinical trials provided by pharmaceutical companies." Includes search tips, a FAQ, a glossary, and press releases. From the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA), "a non-profit, non-governmental Organization (NGO) representing national industry associations and companies."
URL: http://clinicaltrials.ifpma.org/no_cache/en/myportal
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/20790

A Taste of Gardening
This series on gardening basics features sections on garden planning, planting, growing transplants (planting dates for Chicago area only), composting, insect and disease control, herbs, and harvesting and storing vegetables. Includes handy charts describing how and when to harvest vegetables and herbs, and simple diagrams of a compost pile and vegetable storage systems. From the University of Illinois Extension.
URL: http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/tog/
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/21130

Tales From the Public Domain: Bound by Law?
A comic book-style presentation that explores "the impacts of intellectual property on creativity -- specifically, documentary film." Follow the heroine as she "navigates the twists and turns of intellectual property. ... Bound By Law reaches beyond documentary film to provide a commentary on the most pressing issues facing law, art, property and an increasingly digital world of remixed culture." From the Center for the Study of the Public Domain, Duke University Law School.
URL: http://www.law.duke.edu/cspd/comics/
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/20932

Ping-Pong Oddity
Text of an unpublished book about the U.S. table tennis team's 1971 "ping-pong diplomacy" trip to China. This trip, taken during the Nixon administration, was considered to be a turning point in improvements in U.S.-China relations. The personal account includes some photos from the trip. Part of a larger publication on the history of U.S. table tennis from USA Table Tennis, "the national organizing body for table tennis in the United States."
URL: http://www.usatt.org/articles/ppoddity01.shtml
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/21098

Regional: California

1906 Earthquake Centennial
This site created for the 100-year anniversary of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire features animated ground motion simulation maps, earthquake intensity maps, computer animations of some San Francisco landmarks (such as the Golden Gate Bridge) shaking in a repeat of the 1906 earthquake, and current maps and information about the San Andreas and Hayward earthquake faults. Includes links to related sites. From the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).
URL: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/regional/nca/1906/
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/21096

San Francisco 1906 Marriage Project
"In the days and weeks following the [1906 earthquake and fire] ... newspapers all over the country were overflowing with photographs and accounts of the terrible destruction. ... [but] a unique human phenomenon was also being reported. Despite the extremely difficult circumstances surrounding them, couples were getting married, and they were doing it in record numbers." The site documents these unions through vintage articles and illustrated stories about selected couples. From San Francisco Genealogy.
URL: http://www.sfgenealogy.com/1906/06index.htm
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/21086

From the Heart of Washington
This "federal grant-funded marketing campaign was designed to increase consumer demand for Washington state food and agricultural products." The consumer area of this website offers a recipe database, cooking advice, meet-the-grower feature, and an availability table for seasonal fruits, vegetables, salmon, and shellfish. Also includes sections for growers and retailers, and links to agriculture information for children.
URL: http://www.heartofwashington.com/
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/19691

Regions of the World

Bedouin Culture & Folklore
Brief introduction to this Middle Eastern nomadic group. "A Bedouin is one who was born and raised in the desert or mountain wilderness and lives alongside nature in black tents or in caves." They raise goats, sheep, donkeys, horses and camels. The site describes Bedouin camels, Arabian horses as raised by Bedouins, wedding traditions, foods, traditional costumes, and tents. From a travel agency in Jordan.
URL: http://www.nyazi.com.jo/Bedouin/bedouin.htm
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/21120

Petra: Lost City of Stone
Exhibit about the ancient city of Petra in Jordan, which "was unmarked on modern maps" until it was rediscovered in the 19th century. The site features an illustrated history of the city from its founding by Arabian nomads called the Nabataeans through its annexation by the Romans, its great earthquake in A.D. 363, and the Byzantine era. Also find photos of the present-day Bedouin of Petra. From the American Museum of Natural History.
URL: http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/petra/
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/21122

NASA Planetary Photojournal
Thousands of images from various U.S. space exploration programs. Features images of the nine planets, moons, asteroid, comets, and other bodies; photos of spacecraft and telescopes; discussion of the missions that obtained the photos and images; and related material. Includes images such as the 2006 map of Jupiter developed during the Cassini-Huygens mission. From the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).
URL: http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/3685

The Adoption History Project
Introduction to the history of child adoption in the United States with profiles of people, organizations, topics, and studies. Features a timeline with associated essays on topics such as the 1851 passage of the first modern adoption law, opposition by the National Association of Black Social Workers to transracial adoptions, and the 2000 act that allowed foreign-born adoptees to automatically become American citizens. From a professor of history at the University of Oregon.
URL: http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~adoption/
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/21123

Digital Haggadah
Audio files for the Passover Haggadah (the story of the Exodus, traditionally sung at the Seder dinner in Hebrew, as it is here). The files can be downloaded individually or as a set, or streamed from the site. The clear, well-sung tracks were recorded for the commercial website Judaism.com by Chiam Davidson, "a Pittsburgh Ba'al Tefila (leader of Synagogue services)."
URL: http://www.judaism.com/digital_haggadah/
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/21142

State of the World's Children
"Each year, UNICEF's flagship publication, 'The State of the World's Children,' closely examines a key issue affecting children. The report includes supporting data and statistics and is available in French and Spanish language versions." The site features reports back 1996, with themes such as excluded and invisible children (2006), education and development (2004), nutrition (1998), and children at war (1996). Also find photo galleries. From the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).
URL: http://www.unicef.org/sowc/
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/20939

The World's Best Prom
Companion to a 2006 documentary about the annual high school "prom mania" in Racine, Wisconsin. "The city's extravagant celebration begins with a rowdy parade where students compete for the most outrageous form of transportation ... even riding elephant-back through the city streets." The site features video clips (such as of Susan Sarandon and other celebrities sharing prom stories and historical material from the 1950s), photos, and more.
URL: http://www.worldsbestprom.com
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/21113